Salazar directed the Bureau of Land Management, which handles lease sales, to return $6 million to the companies that bid on those 77 parcels.

The parcels are near Arches and Canyonlands national parks, Dinosaur National Monument and Nine Mile Canyon.

“In its last weeks in office, the Bush administration rushed ahead to sell oil and gas leases at the doorstep of some of our nation’s most treasured landscapes in Utah,” said Salazar. “We need to responsibly develop our oil and gas supplies. We must do so in a thoughtful and balanced way that allows us to protect our signature landscapes.”

The move drew praise from environmental groups.

“Salazar is bringing common sense and science back into wilderness management,” said Robin Cooley, an attorney with the nonprofit environmental law firm Earthjustice.

Earthjustice filed a lawsuit opposing the lease sale and, on Jan. 17, obtained a temporary restraining order that blocked the BLM from finalizing the leases.

The Salazar decision was criticized by oil and gas industry officials, who said the sale followed all necessary requirements and that the move would hurt Utah’s economy.

“A lease sale is an economic stimulus to the state and federal government,” said Kathleen Sgamma, director of government affairs for the Independent Petroleum Association of Mountain States.